Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Rick and I had the good fortune to spend a couple of unexpected days in NYC this week. Our really loose schedule was to enjoy grate meals and see grate art!
Well, we got the last part right! HAHA (We did find some pretty great food and beverages, but I digress. . . .)

On our second day out, the wind was howling and the rain was colder than . . . well . . . it was cold! The museum we wanted to go to was not open yet. Rick spotted a lovely old cathedral on the other side of the street and suggested we go in to find shelter.

Again, our angels guided us to a place unexpected.

It was warm and inviting and the quiet was oh, so, soothing. We sat a bit to take in the enormity of the structure, admiring the huge stained glass windows, the beautifully weathered woodwork, the statues and the ceilings.

But, what caught our eyes most, were the humblest pieces of art, I am sure were not on any list of exhibits. The grates in the walls, of cast iron or brass, were truly works of art.
Each one seemed to be different. Shapes, sizes, and textures. (and warm!)

Rick had the camera out and acted like he was at a fashion photo shoot, bending this way and that, changing the features on the camera to make sure he got the details just so. (My hero. . . )

So the rest of the day, no matter where we were, that's what we saw. The most beautiful collection of functional art. I love that whoever created or designed these, made sure he (she) made them special. I wish I could thank them for their work. I hope someone did.

So, when I got to the task of translating them to tangles, some interesting things started to happen.
I wasn't as successful when I tried to duplicate them exactly but if I studied the composition and found what it was I liked about a piece, and used that, the tangles began to form.

So, on this first one, you see the duplication of that first tall stone lattice grate, with carefully intersecting circles. I could do it, but I don't think I could easily deconstruct it. Too fussy.

On the next tile, I did the grid lines the same, with heavier vertical. Then I drew some random looping circles and shapes behind the vertical lines with an 01 Micron. After I was happy with how it looked, I went back with an 005 Micron and aura-ed every shape on both sides of the lines. Then I "mitered" all the corners ever so carefully to give it dimension. This I like much better!

Then I started going through all the other grate pictures and took inspiration from them and tangled away with a reticula and fragment approach . . .

is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.
We believe that life is an art form and that the Zentangle method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life.